Man pleads guilty to murder and attempted murder

Published Sept. 3, 2009

A Galloway Township man entered guilty pleas today to two counts of murder for killing his mother and niece and one count of attempted murder for attacking his other niece and will be sentenced to decades in prison for the brutal August 2008 crimes, Atlantic County Prosecutor Ted Housel announced.

In accordance with the plea agreement, Ronald Weed, 42, will be sentenced to two concurrent 30-year-prison terms with no period of parole eligibility for 30 years for murdering his mother Loretta Weed and his niece Kimberly McCarten. He also will be sentenced to 10 years in prison to run concurrent to the murder sentence for the attempted murder of his niece Courtney McCarten, according to Chief Assistant Prosecutor Cary Shill.

On Aug. 5, 2008, Weed attacked his mother and nieces using an axe, a blunt object and a knife. One of his nieces called 911 to say that her grandmother Loretta Weed, 65, was being attacked in her home at 465 South Nectar Avenue in Galloway Township. The woman died a few hours later. The defendant then turned his rage on his 12-year-old nieces Kimberly and Courtney McCarten. Courtney McCarten survived the attack but suffered severe injuries. She continues to recover from her injuries, Prosecutor Housel said.

During the plea hearing the defendant told the court that he hit all three victims in the forehead with a statue of a cigar store Indian, Shill stated.

"This case represents a tragedy on so many levels, “ Prosecutor Housel stated. “The public will be well served by removing the Defendant from society."

Weed was arrested and charged the day of the crimes and an Atlantic County Grand Jury indicted him in November. He will be sentenced on Nov. 6 before Superior Court Judge Bernard E. DeLury.

Anyone with information involving serious crimes is asked to call the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-909-7800 or go to the Prosecutor’s Office Web site at http://www.acpo.org/tips.html and provide information by filling out the form anonymously on the Submit a Tip page. People can also call Crime Stoppers at 609-652-1234 or 1-800-658-8477 (TIPS). Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment of those who commit crimes in Atlantic County.